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Caleb Rogers, Texas Tech football hoping for smoother trip to TCU than 'fever dream' of 2022
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- Caleb Rogers, Texas Tech football hoping for smoother trip to TCU than 'fever dream' of 2022
The Texas Tech football team is coming off a lopsided home loss to Baylor and now must head to Fort Worth to take on TCU in a 2:30 p.m. Saturday matchup.
If that sounds familiar, it's because the exact same scenario played out in 2022 when the Red Raiders (5-2, 3-1) last played the Horned Frogs (4-3, 2-2) in Amon G. Carter Stadium.
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For Caleb Rogers ' sake, he's hoping that's the only thing similar with Tech's latest trip to Cow Town.
More: Just plane tiresome: Red Raiders recap their tedious time on a tarmac
During that 2022 road trip, Texas Tech 's plane was grounded on the tarmac in Lubbock for more than eight hours due to weather in the Dallas-Fort Worth area the day before the game. Rogers recalled Tuesday the nightmarish scenario that left the Red Raiders cooped up on the airplane for most of that time with only a few players allowed to exit for a few minutes.
"It was kind of a fever dream," Rogers said, "but it was actually awesome the way it kind of brought the team together at the time. I mean, we lost the game to the national championship runner-ups, but it was an insane experience."
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Mason Tharp, and his 6-foot-9 frame, got a dose of luxury on that flight, being placed in first-class seating along with the starting offensive and defensive linemen. That didn't make the experience any more comfortable.
Caleb Rogers of Texas Tech celebrates after a touchdown during the first half of the game against Abilene Christian at Jones AT&T Stadium on August 31, 2024 in Lubbock, Texas.
"It wasn't really fun sitting on the tarmac for eight hours," Tharp said.
The Red Raiders lost that game 34-24 while the Horned Frogs began their run to the College Football Playoff national championship game.
This will be Texas Tech's third straight trip to TCU coming off a loss of 24 points or more at home. The 2020 team headed to Fort Worth after a 62-28 loss to Oklahoma , and the 2022 squad fell 45-17 to the Bears. Tech lost the next game to TCU each time.
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More: Texas Tech football: Kirby Hocutt says Horned Frogs 'need help in filling their stadium'
But Amon G. Carter Stadium has become a bit of a home away from home for the Red Raiders, something TCU hopes doesn't happen this year. Back in July, TCU put single-game tickets on sale to the general public for all of its home games except for this week's game (they're still unavailable ). Texas Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt used the situation to poke the bear a bit, telling TCU AD Jeremiah Donati on social media, "we can fill your stadium too if you'll let us."
"TCU is always a home game for us," Rogers said. He later added, "Do what you got to do, I guess. I mean, if you want to try and keep us out of there, you can. But Texas Tech will find a way. We kind of always do. That's just the resiliency of West Texas in us."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football hoping for smoother trip to TCU than 'fever dream' of 2022
